The application of ultrasound shear wave elastography to measure muscle stiffness in Premier League Academy footballers

Slack, Jordan (2024). The application of ultrasound shear wave elastography to measure muscle stiffness in Premier League Academy footballers. University of Birmingham. Ph.D.

Slack2024PhD.pdf
Text - Accepted Version
Available under License All rights reserved.
Download (3MB)

Abstract

Muscle stiffness has received major interest in recent years as it is believed that lower extremity stiffness is an important factor in musculoskeletal performance and injury prevention (Pruyn et al. 2012, Butler et al. 2003). An advancing technique to measure stiffness, ultrasound shear-wave elastography, has been designed to quantify mechanical and elastic tissue properties to provide an estimate of muscle stiffness (Brandenburg et al. 2014, Talijanovic et al. 2017). Thus, the aim of this thesis is to assess the application of ultrasound shear wave elastography (USWE) to measure muscle stiffness in premier league academy football.

Study 1: The purpose of the systematic review is to assess the variation in methods used to measure the shear modulus of the rectus femoris using USWE in order to measure muscle stiffness, as the current literature shows variation between studies. From this information, we aim to establish an evidence-based protocol for measuring shear wave elastography, and to develop a methodology that is suitable for research within an elite practical setting by identifying which aspects of the procedures and protocols are essential.

Study 2: The aim of this study was to quantify muscle stiffness using USWE across different age groups and to determine the relationship between muscle stiffness and measures of physical performance in premier league academy footballers. Alongside USWE measurements, the athletes performed a vertical hop test, to assess a holistic measure of lower-limb stiffness, to compare against muscle stiffness measured from the USWE. Rectus femoris stiffness measured from USWE was related to increased CMJ eccentric and concentric peak force, whilst increased vertical stiffness levels appear to be beneficial across a range of performance tasks including acceleration, maximal strength and jump performance.

Study 3: The purpose of this research is to provide information on the change in muscle stiffness using shear wave elastography (USWE) following a 90-minute premier league academy football match. No significant difference was found between the pre-scan and post-scan for muscle stiffness (p = 0.118) though a mean decrease of -0.17m/s decrease was observed for the players who played 90-mins with a moderate effect size of 0.45. A moderate negative correlation between the difference in muscle stiffness and Total Distance (r = -0.6291), and a moderate positive correlation with number of sprints performed (r = 0.5745) though these were not significant (p = > 0.05).

Study 4: The aim of the case series approach was to (1) assess how consecutive soccer-specific stimulus influences the response of muscle stiffness measured by USWE over a 5-day longitudinal analysis, and (2) to establish how a consecutive training stimulus of different themed training sessions may influence the acute change of muscle stiffness over a 4-day longitudinal analysis with the addition of a performance marker (CMJ) to help interpret the impact of the stiffness. The case series establishes that the type of stimulus, and the series in which soccer-specific stimulus is performed can affect the individual muscle stiffness response.

This research has helped to provide an interesting insight into how USWE may be used within a professional sports team and provided a platform for future research to help integrate USWE into monitoring and readiness processes within premier league academy football.

Type of Work:

Thesis (Doctorates > Ph.D.)

Award Type:

Doctorates > Ph.D.

Supervisor(s):